IRONSMITHINTEL
HIGHCVSS7.9
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2023-0266|Auth: low — authenticated user|Reboot: required|Manual only

Linux Kernel Use-After-Free Vulnerability (CVE-2023-0266)

Linux kernel contains a use-after-free vulnerability that allows for privilege escalation to gain ring0 access from the system user.

Published Jan 30, 2023 · Updated May 17, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

An attacker, with a low-privilege account, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data, complete denial of service or system unavailability. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2023-04-20 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This is a Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Linux Kernel. A use after free vulnerability exists in the ALSA PCM package in the Linux Kernel. SNDRV_CTL_IOCTL_ELEM_{READ|WRITE}32 is missing locks that can be used in a use-after-free that can result in a priviledge escalation to gain ring0 access from the system user. We recommend upgrading past commit 56b88b50565cd8b946a2d00b0c83927b7ebb055e Exploitation requires adjacent_network access, higher attack complexity, a low-privilege authenticated account, and no user interaction required.

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

IT Security
Running debian linux: 10.0; linux kernel: 4.14 ≤ v < 4.14.303, 4.15 ≤ v < 4.19.270, 4.20 ≤ v < 5.4.229, 5.5 ≤ v < 5.10.163, 5.11 ≤ v < 5.15.88, 5.16 ≤ v < 6.1.6
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

CISA added this CVE to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-03-30 based on evidence of active exploitation in the wild. Federal agencies required to remediate by 2023-04-20.

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

1
Identify affected hosts: query inventory for general installs in scope.
2
Apply the vendor security update referenced in CVE-2023-0266's advisory. No specific KB/version is encoded yet — consult the linked MSRC/vendor URL.
3
Verify the fix per the vendor's published verification steps.
4
Document the remediation in your change ticket and re-scan with your vulnerability scanner to confirm closure.
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